Apropos of drinking in colonial America: "hard" apple cider was the daily beverage of choice for most people. The varieties of apples under cultivation were generally much too tart to eat, and used only to make cider. The famous "Johnny Appleseed" planted cider apple trees all over the countryside and well into the frontier territories of the time.

Water was still generally suspect as unhealthy, and milk was uesd primarily for butter and cheesemaking.